Signs & Symptoms

Symptoms of a brain tumor can vary depending on the tumor’s size, type, and location.

Here is a list of the most common brain tumor signs and symptoms, along with suggestions for ways to reduce their impact on your life.

Be sure to discuss any new symptoms, or changes in existing symptoms, with your healthcare team as soon as possible. It is important to talk with your doctor about all of your symptoms and to keep your medical team updated about how your symptoms change over time. Your doctor can help you treat your symptoms and minimize their impact on your life.

A seizure is an episode caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Common features of seizures include:

Sudden onset

Loss of consciousness and body tone, followed by twitching and relaxing muscle contractions

Loss of control of bodily functions

Short periods of no breathing (30 seconds); skin may turn dusky blue

Short duration (2-3 minutes)

After the seizure passes, the person may feel sleepy or confused, have a headache or sore muscles, or experience brief weakness or numbness.
There are many different types of seizures, depending on which area of the brain has the abnormal electrical signals.
Seizures can be common in people with brain tumors. In some cases, a seizure is the first clue that an individual has a brain tumor.

Causes of seizures

Normally, your body’s nerve cells communicate with each other through carefully controlled electrical signals. If something interferes with these signals, or communication pathways become compressed, stretched, or blocked, it can result in a seizure.

How to handle seizures

Most seizures can be controlled with medicines called anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). Surgery to remove the tumor may also stop or reduce seizure activity.

Before a seizure:

Seizures can happen at random – at any time, and with no particular trigger. However, there are sometimes warning signs that signal when a seizure is about to occur. People who regularly have seizures sometimes notice things that may signal an oncoming episode. This warning is called an “aura.” Auras vary by individual and can take the form of a headache, a change of mood, a muscle twitch, or a particular smell.

After a seizure:

Allow time for recovery.

Communicate with your doctor if this is a new symptom.

If you are taking an anti-epileptic medication, ask the doctor if the seizure medication dosage needs to be adjusted.

Maintain a record of seizure symptoms, including how long they last and how often they occur.

Brain can tumors often affect memory. Changes in a patient’s short-term memory are often more noticeable than effects on long-term memory.

Memory terms to know

Short-term memory: Short-term memory is where we store information we need to remember for just a few seconds or minutes. Remembering a phone number we’re just about to dial is an example.

Long-term memory: Long-term memory is for information that is stored for more than just a few minutes. Our family’s names are stored in our long-term memories.

Encoding/acquisition: The process by which our brains gather information, organize it, and process it for storage.

Consolidation: The process by which our brains move information from short-term to long-term memory.

Retrieval: The process by which previously learned information is remembered or brought into awareness.

Memory problem causes

A patient’s brain tumor can cause memory problems. Treatment like surgery or radiation may also cause memory problems. Fatigue, which is common in patients with brain tumors, can make these issues even worse.

How to handle memory problems

The more active your brain is, the more connections you’ll build within it. Any activity you enjoy that stimulates the brain has the potential to be helpful—reading, writing, and working on crossword puzzles are good examples.
Here are some tips to help improve your memory in general:

Get plenty of sleep.

Eat regular, well balanced meals and drink plenty of liquids.

Adjust your surroundings to enhance your attention span. Some people perform better in a quiet, distraction-free environment, while others need more stimulation.

If you have problems with encoding/acquisition and consolidation:

Minimize distractions.

Focus on only one thing at a time, if possible.

If it’s important, repeat it. Even better, repeat it back in your own words.

Ask questions where appropriate; more information makes for better learning.

Try to associate the information with something meaningful to you.

Keep things as structured and organized as possible.

Designate a specific place to keep important things like your keys or wallet.

Arrange information under a common theme; “chunk” or group the information.

Make lists.

Use calendars, daily planners, electronic organizers.

Use a memory notebook.

Use Post-it notes.

Set alarm clocks/timers as reminders.

If you have problems with retrieval:

Use cues and reminders to help you remember.

Use an alarm clock or timer.

Use a memory notebook.

Use a daily planner.

If you are a visual learner:

Use written lists.

Visualize the information you want to remember (i.e., picture the story as it’s being told).

When you can, sketch it out.

If you are an aural (listening) learner:

Get the information verbally; if it’s a drawing or map, talk it out.

Read the information out loud (engaging more than one sense may help you remember).

Clinical, or major, depression goes far beyond a case of “the blues.” Major depression is persistent and can interfere with every aspect of daily life. Symptoms may include prolonged feelings of sadness that is often disproportionate to the situation, loss of interest or pleasure in things that used to be enjoyable, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, insomnia, decreased energy, and even thoughts of suicide.
Depression is common among both brain tumor patients and their loved ones. Estimates suggest that more than 1 in 4 people with a brain tumor suffer with a major depressive disorder. Although depression is a common reaction to a brain tumor diagnosis, there are options available to help you feel better.

How to handle depression

It is critical that you are able to identify the signs and symptoms associated with depression and get help.
By carefully looking for symptoms of depression, you may be the first to identify this important issue and alert the doctor to your concerns. Your doctor can perform a formal evaluation, and, if you are diagnosed with depression, help you get effective treatment.
It is important to remember that depression is not a sign of weakness, but rather a common occurrence during the treatment for brain tumors. Untreated depression can slow the rates of recovery and cause other health problems. Getting help for depression should be part of your brain tumor treatment plan for your mental health and well-being. Treatment for depression typically consists of medication and/or “talk” therapy.

How to handle mood swings

Unlike tumors in another part of the body, brain tumors have the ability to affect a person’s personality. Someone who was once driven and motivated before a brain tumor diagnosis can now be passive and inhibited. Or someone who was once described as sweet and kind could become irritable and controlling. This is one of the most difficult symptoms for caregivers to live with. Loved ones can feel frustration or sense of loss for the person they knew “before.”

The causes of personality changes

A brain tumor can cause personality changes by disrupting brain function. The tumor’s location, size, and growth rate can have a lot to do with how a patient thinks and acts. Treatments such as radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy can also have an effect. The psychological and emotional effects of brain tumors are important to consider as well.

How to handle personality changes

If you or your caregiver notice changes in personality, it is import to tell your doctor.

Changes in cognitive function – the brain’s ability to reason, remember, and learn – are a common symptom among brain tumor patients. In some cases, these changes are so subtle that the patients themselves are more aware of their difficulties than are those around them. In others, it is the caregiver rather than the patient who first recognizes that something is different.
Cognitive changes commonly fall into a few broad categories:

Causes of cognitive changes

The tumor’s location, size, and growth rate can have a lot to do with how a patient thinks and acts. Treatments such as radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy can also have an effect. The psychological and emotional effects of brain tumors are important to consider as well.

How to handle cognitive changes

As a first step, it’s a good idea to undergo a complete neuropsychological evaluation. This detailed evaluation of your current behavioral, cognitive, and emotional status can help identify specific issues and assist your treatment team in determining how to help.
Different behavioral issues are addressed in different ways:

Brain tumors can cause a number of mood, behavioral or cognitive symptoms that present or overlap like mental health disorders. If untreated, these symptoms can cause significant change in the patient’s personality, mood, and behavior. In extreme cases, these changes can lead to situations in which the patient, their caregiver, loved ones or others are placed at risk.
Examples of neuropsychiatric symptoms include aggression, delusion, hallucination, impulsivity, mania, paranoia, psychosis, and violent behavior.

Causes of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms

Neuropsychiatric symptoms related to a brain tumor can have several causes, including tumor location, injury caused by the tumor, age, general health, and other health issues.

Mass effect happens when a brain tumor presses on the normal tissue around it. Nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, vision problems, headaches, and behavior changes are common symptoms.

Causes of mass effect

Mass effect is caused by increased intracranial pressure, also known as ICP. This increased pressure in the brain may be caused by several factors:

A tumor growing within the tight space of the skull

The fluid that flows around and through the brain is blocked (hydrocephalus)

The area of the brain near the tumor is swelling because fluid is building up (edema)

How to handle mass effect

Prompt treatment is required to avoid serious consequences. If you or a loved one is experiencing vision changes, severe/sudden-onset personality changes, vomiting, or severe head pain, seek emergency medical help.